Jan 12, 2025
When do designers miss opportunities most?
Why your design skills aren’t enough · Articulating Design Decisions #3
Jan 12, 2025
Why your design skills aren’t enough · Articulating Design Decisions #3
Photo by Milad Fakurian on Unsplash
Most designers are good at design, but fewer of them design their meetings. Outstanding work without meeting skills can result in missed opportunities—misunderstood ideas, lack of support, or worse, others presenting your ideas instead of you.
Hi, Kocha here—welcome to part three of my review of Tom Greever’s book Articulating Design Decisions. In the last episode, we explored improving communication with stakeholders. Today, we’ll learn how to design effective meetings. Let’s dive in.
I once saw a designer lose ownership of a great idea simply because they didn’t frame their design well. Someone else explained it better and walked away with the credit.
During the course of working with stakeholders, your job is to learn what makes them tick—whether it’s research findings, data to back your claims, or aesthetic details. As discussed in Ep.2, Greever stresses that great designers don’t just solve problems—they communicate solutions in ways that inspire buy-in.
Meetings are the place for this buy-in. Practising for a meeting is like usability testing your communication skills. Your elegant design alone isn’t enough; you need to design the meeting experience too.
Before any meeting, ask yourself: What am I trying to achieve? Whether it’s presenting a design, gathering feedback, or making a decision, clarity is key.
💡 Pro tip: Write your meeting goal as a single sentence: “We’re reviewing the new onboarding flow to identify ways to reduce churn by 15%.” Then, name your meeting descriptively (e.g., “Onboarding flow: Feedback session”) and share an agenda upfront to align expectations.
Your presentation is your stage—turn it into a narrative:
Example: Instead of saying, “This is our onboarding flow,” frame it as: “Our goal is to reduce churn. Here’s how this design addresses user pain points while meeting our technical constraints.”
Stakeholders have different priorities. Avoid design jargon and focus on asking questions that align with stakeholder values such as:
When I started asking myself these questions before presenting designs in meetings, I noticed my stakeholders became more engaged and proactive in supporting my ideas.
Meetings thrive when stakeholders feel valued. Ask open-ended questions like, “What are your initial thoughts?” Acknowledge contributions, e.g., “Great point; here’s how I considered it…” This builds trust and keeps discussions productive.
Pro tip: Redirect off-topic with phrases like, “That’s important, but let’s table it for later.”
Ask for actionable feedback, e.g., “How well does this align with our goals?” Categorise feedback into must-haves, nice-to-haves, and out-of-scope. Summarise key takeaways, decisions, and next steps.
Your role isn’t just to gather feedback—it’s to enable stakeholders to articulate and support your design when you’re not in the room.
Never assume your design will speak for itself—design the narrative too. Meetings are your opportunity to convey your vision clearly and inspire buy-in. With well-designed meetings, you’ll avoid missed opportunities and turn stakeholders into advocates for your work.
Have you ever struggled with running effective design meetings? Reach out to share your experiences—I’d love to hear from you.
In the next episode, we’ll explore how to respond effectively to stakeholder feedback and drive alignment.
Thanks for reading—chat soon! ✌🏼
Ep.1: What makes good design good?
Ep.2: The secret to better communication
Ep.3: When do designers miss opportunities most?
Ep.4: Coming soon
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© 8888 Kocha · Sydney-Based Designer
I acknowledge the traditional owners of Australia, on whose land I live and work. I pay my respect to their people—past, present and emerging.
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